Lights under 1k

[RubiconProSound]

Here's my system:

2 Chauvet Swarm $250
1 Chauvet Vue 3.1 $160
4 Chauvet splash Jr, LED PAR $120 ($59 each)
1 Chauvet Obey 10 DMX controller $80
2 Odyssey Lighting T bars $88 ($44 each)
2 Venue LED 38 Par lights $180 ($90 each)
100 foot DMX cable. $40
Bulk XLR connectors off of eBay $20 (20 pack, 10 male, 10 female)

Grand Total: $938

I bought the 100 foot DMX cable and then cut it up into smaller sections and soldered on my own XLR connectors. It's labor intensive to solder all the connectors but cheaper than buying individual cables. (don't forget to solder a 120 ohm resistor between pins 2 & 3 on one of the XLR connectors as a termination plug...)

The Vue 3.1 has a very wide coverage and can be aimed at the floor or ceiling. When I'm using a truss I use the Vue as a centerpiece and then flank the Swarms on either side. When using the T bars I'll just put a swarm on one side and the Vue on the other. Both fixtures can be viewed on Youtube.

The Splash Jr's are at the bottom of the scale for LED pars but they're cheap and still get the job done. For bands you can mount them to a small wooden base and place them on the floor near the monitors for up lighting. My buddy did this with his band and it came out looking good. I've also used them for up lighting at weddings in a pinch.

There is a guy over on DJforums that has his own lighting company (can't remember his name at the moment ) but he's very helpful and his prices are reasonable. I wanted to pick up one of his "Zipper" light bars. He seems to get good reviews from the folks on the forum.

[RubiconProSound]

I found the name of the lighting guy at DJForums...

He goes by "BillESC" and he's also over at Harmony Central...

His Website:
http://www.shopesc.com

[jcmbowman]

I know what lumens are, but have no frame of reference as to scale. Bigger is brighter I'm sure. But are there specific levels to look for?

As a theatre lighting guy in another life, I can tell you that the calculations for lumens (or candlepower, or lux, in some cases) are as difficult to parse as SPL measurements from loudspeaker manufacturers. Something to bear in mind when looking at light output numbers is that a narrow par 38 and a flood par 38 will produce the same amount of light at the fixture, but when illuminating a subject the narrow is going to be brighter, just because it is more focused. Watch out for the difference between lumens and lux as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lux#Lux_versus_lumen

Some cite lux @ 1 meter, others at 2 meters, etc. This is why more reputable fixture and bulb manufacturers will list the lux, distance and also the beam angle, and the ones that are trying to pull a fast one won't.


For a general baseline - a standard 90 watt flood (AKA a par38) will output around 1200-1300 lumens, a 120 watt flood should be closer to 1500-1600.

[LelandCrooks]

Thanks!

[LiefStevens]

I bought the 100 foot DMX cable and then cut it up into smaller sections and soldered on my own XLR connectors. It's labor intensive to solder all the connectors but cheaper than buying individual cables. (don't forget to solder a 120 ohm resistor between pins 2 & 3 on one of the XLR connectors as a termination plug...)

That's what I did too. I bought this cable of ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... _938wt_802 For $36 shipped and cut it up. Kinda a pain but they are the exact length I need.

[Haysus]

I bought the 100 foot DMX cable and then cut it up into smaller sections and soldered on my own XLR connectors. It's labor intensive to solder all the connectors but cheaper than buying individual cables. (don't forget to solder a 120 ohm resistor between pins 2 & 3 on one of the XLR connectors as a termination plug...)

That's what I did too. I bought this cable of ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... _938wt_802 For $36 shipped and cut it up. Kinda a pain but they are the exact length I need.

I did the same and saved a ton. I have 2 Tbars with 4 par 56's prewired and a black powerstrip attached to each. I built 2 coffins to hold the bars and lights. Setup and tear down is so much faster. Connect 2 cables, run power, aim lights and voila.

[jswingchun]

This thread has been freakin' awesome! Keep it coming!

[Harley]

I did the same and saved a ton. I have 2 Tbars with 4 par 56's prewired and a black powerstrip attached to each. I built 2 coffins to hold the bars and lights. Setup and tear down is so much faster. Connect 2 cables, run power, aim lights and voila.

Pics! ...or it didn't happen

[DrDoug018]

Hi Leland,

We were in a similar situation last year - we needed lights for our OldGuy R&R band and wanted to keep costs as reasonable as possible. We also wanted to keep our power consumption needs low as well. Here is what we ended up with

ADJ Dura-Truss System with 3 5 foot sections - ~$300
Four Chauvet LED Rain 38c ~$70 x 4 = $280
Two ADJ MegaBar 50 ~$140 x 2 = $280
Enttec DMX USB Pro $120
FreeStyler Software - Free
Laptop - already had

Total = $980

Added to this later were 3 non-LED scanners and 3 non-LED moving heads that we got off Craigslist from a club owner who went out of business - total $500. I added a fog machine also from Craigslist for $20.

The 4 Pars and 3 scanners are on the truss which is over the drummer at the back of the stage. The two bars are on the main speaker stands for front lighting. Two of the moving heads sit on the floor under the main speakers for font lighting/spot duty and general swirly/flashy stuff.

Observations:

The truss is not heavy duty but works very well for our application. It only elevates to about 12-15' so it doesn't work very well for front lighting but is great for back lighting effects with the scanners and pars. I built a coffin case to hold this.
The LED Pars are good stage wash lights but not good for spots.
The LED bars are surprisingly bright but are too harsh and unnatural for front lighting. We will move them back to the truss as soon as we get some new front lights which will probably be a couple of incandescent pars with amber gels controlled by dimmer pack.
We started with an Obey 40 DMX controller but since we already had the laptop we decided to switch to FreeStyler and the Enttec DMX. It gives a lot more flexibility in creating effects and controlling the scanners and moving heads. Sometimes our sound guy runs the lights, other times I run them while playing bass and managing our sound system (SAC). I have FreeStyler programmed so I only have to click a button to get the effects I want.

For smaller gigs we sometimes just put the four pars on T-stands near the mains to light the stage.

I will take some pics this weekend and hopefully get some video. We have a post July 4 party complete with fireworks and will be using the whole lighting system.

Doug Danforth

p.s. If you are interested we are selling the Obey controller.

[LelandCrooks]

This is a great thread.

[jswingchun]

Thanks to this thread, I picked up a couple of Chauvet COLORstrip Mini's. They worked pretty well just sitting on the floor in front of the band, but I would like to get them up in the air a bit. I think it would be cool to mount them on the speaker stands just below my OT12s. Does anyone know if it is possible to purchase light stand side bars without a stand? I have only been able to find them on stands. The sidebars on this Chauvet stand are like what I am talking about.



I pondered putting them sideways on the stands as others have mentioned here and will still try that to see if I like it.

[DrDoug018]

We mounted ours vertically on our speaker stands using zip ties. Works great except for the harshness of the lights. Indoors they are almost too bright for the singers so I dim them to 50-75%.

I have not seen light stand side bars for sale by themselves, but it seems they would be very simple to make with a dowel or pvc.

Doug

[Greg Plouvier]

Does anyone know if it is possible to purchase light stand side bars without a stand?

http://www.fullcompass.com/search.php?s ... ll=LTB-24B

[Haysus]

I did the same and saved a ton. I have 2 Tbars with 4 par 56's prewired and a black powerstrip attached to each. I built 2 coffins to hold the bars and lights. Setup and tear down is so much faster. Connect 2 cables, run power, aim lights and voila.

Pics! ...or it didn't happen

Sorry Harley I have been away for a bit. I'll post some pics soon.

[jswingchun]

Does anyone know if it is possible to purchase light stand side bars without a stand?

http://www.fullcompass.com/search.php?s ... ll=LTB-24B

Thanks. Those look nice but are pretty spendy. It would be tough to justify $46 to hang an $80 light. Maybe I can DIY something like DrDoug018 suggested.